Mums save public hall from the axe
A group of mums have saved their village’s community hall after fearing it was doomed to close.
The parents and their families have transformed the tired and unused Annbank Community Centre into a bustling hub.
Jodie McFarlane, Lisa Marie Cavens, Margaret Clark, Shala Montgomery and Jodie’s mum Isabel have revitalised the hall and community space over the past year.
The group salvaged the centre, which was place under review by council chiefs in April 2021, to turn things round and in some style.
Since last spring, they have utilised the facility as an events space, hosting cinema events thanks to the Iris in Ayr, a catch-up cafe tackling social isolation in the village and even brought wrestling to Annbank with a ‘brawl in the hall’ night going down a treat.
The hall also became a winter wonderland for the Night Before Christmas Campaign, stocking hundreds of donations and presents as the charity delivered again.
The group have big plans, including transforming the outdoor space into a community garden that will host ‘festival themed’ events in the summer months.
Jodie, who runs the charity, decided to set up the Annbank Community Association.
Dedicated grandpas also stepped in as caretakers with George Tait and John McFarlane, both in their 70s, mucking in. The group have set their sights on purchasing the hall from the council in a community asset transfer after taking on a twoyear lease.
Jodie said “Last year, we were made aware the hall was going to be closing down. In order to save it, we needed to form an association or a group. We held a pop-up cafe in the summertime.
“We did a few fundraising things such as a bingo night and other events. We just started to bring the villagers together again. “We will officially take over the hall this month, we’ve got all the forms submitted and everything is ready to go with the view to doing a community asset transfer in two years time.”
The association has already received a rousing response from the community who have firmly backed their ambitions.
Jodie added: “We as a group tried to support everyone through the pandemic. We set up a Facebook page and had street champions on each street to make sure everyone had help when they needed it. We wanted to build on that and the centre was the perfect opportunity.”
Jodie has praised the backing from South Ayrshire Council who provided a new kitchen at the centre.
A council spokesperson said: “Thriving communities officers have been working alongside Annbank Community Association to support and empower the group to take on the lease for the community centre and also develop a new community garden.”
We just started to bring villagers together again